Travel survey data is important – it provides data on how people travel. This is data that is used to meet carbon targets, improve air quality, making right investment decisions, etc. But how do we understand how people travel?

Today, data is collected through travel surveys. A travel survey is a method that has been developed to collect data on how people travel. Respondents give information on how they have travelled through paper, phone or sometimes web-based questionnaire. The exact format differs between countries, but it relies on the respondent remembering previously made trips (often over a 24-hour period), how (bus, car, walk, etc), why (work, school, shopping, etc) and the distance and time of each trip – in household surveys, one single individual can even be requested to remember all of the trips for their household.

Use sensors in smart phones

The TravelVu app uses sensors in smartphones to identify how people have travelled, prompting them on how they have travelled with an easy-to-use interface where users can review their trips and correct where necessary.

– “We have successfully used TravelVu in several projects, mainly in Sweden including in Umeå and Gothenburg. And we are collecting data in Lund, Malmö and Gävle over the autumn.” Explains Dr Emeli Adell, project manager for TravelVu.

– “We are getting new types of data including a graphical component with GPS tracks which allows us to understand travel in a new way. We are really excited to test TravelVu in other countries.” she continues.

TRavleVu goes international

With co-financing from Climate-KIC under their demonstrator programme, this new project will demonstrate the use of TravelVu app in 4 countries outside of Sweden (Denmark, Norway, Germany, Italy) with the aim to get at least 1000 app-users in each site. The project will also work on developing a dashboard so that organisations will be able to view details of their travel survey online, and be able to access data and download reports. The new travel survey service will be called Travelviewer.

Testing new recruitment techniques

As well as testing the app and developing the dashboard, new recruitment techniques will be tested in the sites, and comparisons will be made of the data and of the quality of recruitment across the sites.

– “We’re very pleased to have an expert group following the project and supporting us with evaluation. We have leading European experts in travel surveys who will support us in the project.” Says Emeli.

The project starts now in September 2018, and will continue for 2 years.

More information

If you have any questions about this project, or want to learn more about TravelVu, please contact Emeli Adell or Anna Clark.